This is a simplify version of the Brazilian “pão de queijo”, it is cheesy and gluten free. It makes a great appetizer and can be made way ahead.
I already share so many versions of the famous Brazilian pão de queijo…recipes which each little ball is hand shaped, blended and pour in a waffle iron, Asian style and now blended and frozen for later enjoyment.
– What is “pão de queijo”?
Pão de queijo when translated from Portuguese should be cheese bread. In reality, it is not a bread as you know as bread…it is usually small baked roll with cheese and the base of the roll is mainly tapioca flour and not wheat flour. The texture is not like your regular bread, it is sort of chewy, cheesy and let’s say very different. In my opinion it is a sort of popover, choux pastry…there is no any raising agent such as yeast or baking powder, the air pockets in the little cheese bread are mainly due to the combination of egg, oil, liquid (milk) and tapioca flour.
– History of “pão de queijo”
Pão de queijo recipe is typical from Minas Gerais, which is a state located on the eastern side of Brazil, north of the state of São Paulo. The recipe is traditionally passed from grandmother to their daughters and from the daughter to the granddaughters…the difference in the ingredients may vary from water to milk, oil from lard, but the idea is the same. Apparently started with a piece of leftover cheese, since wheat flour was not common at the time being that tapioca flour from yuca (cassava) was available, somehow in between “pão de queijo” emerged.
– Why you need to make “pão de queijo”?
Because is it easy and a crowd pleaser. I always have a “bag” of these in my freezer…and I bake whenever we feel like having a small snack, a something to go with a bowl of salad or soup, as an appetizer when entertaining.
– Why this is a great version?
This is the simplest version of all and can be made way ahead…all the ingredients are mixed in a blender and pour is a small silicone mold and place into the freezer. Once frozen they can be stored in a plastic frozen bag (to save freezer space) and store for months until time to bake.
– Have I convinced you? Okay…let’s look at the recipe…
Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil such a sunflower, canola or corn
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 125 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 345 g tapioca flour
- 120 g grated Cheddar cheese
Method:
Place milk, oil, eggs and salt in the blender. Blend until all the ingredients are mixed.
Add the parmesan cheese and blend in.
Add tapioca flour in thirds and pulse after each addition, making sure that the batter is smooth. Scrapping the side of the blender cup as needed.
Now, you can either add the cheddar cheese and pulse a couple of times or remove the blender cup from the motor and add the cheddar cheese and mix carefully with a spatula, until the cheese is incorporated into the batter.
Pour the batter into small silicone mold (approximately 0.6 oz or 18 ml each cavity). As the silicone bakeware are flexible, place them on a cookie sheet or any metal tray.
Place the trays in the freezer for a few hours until the batter is frozen.
Once the cheese bread (balls) are totally frozen, quickly remove the frozen cheese balls from the silicone bakeware and place them into a freezer bag and in the freezer until time to bake.
When baking the cheese bread, place the frozen cheese bread directly in a preheated oven of 350oF for approximately 15-20 minutes. Make sure to leave at least 1 in (2.5 cm) in between the cheese bread (balls).
Serve hot/warm.
Take a look…it is soft and chewy and loaded with cheese…
– Looking for other versions of the Brazilian pão de queijo?
Did you know that tapioca flour is a product of the cassava? Cassava, yuca or manioc is a root like yam, taro, and potato, therfore totally grain and gluten free. Cassava is very popular in South America, parts of Asia and Africa.
I tried this before in a food expo here in AUckland and wondered what they were called and made, now I have a recipe that I can trust.
OMG, I’m a huge fan of cheese, Juliana! Save some for me, won’t you? Been a long while since we last exchanged words. Hope all’s well. xoxo
Oh my, those look delicious, Juliana! I love that you can make and freeze them to make a few at a time!
These look great! I can never stop eating these little breads. I’d love to have a supply in the freezer!
My husband will thank you — he loves these and grabs a ton any time we go to Brazilian restaurants. There is a brand that sells frozen pão de queijo in our local grocery store, but they charge an arm and a leg for it. Having a simple recipe to make it ourselves will save us money and keep him happy.
I have hard of those a long time ago and it has been on my bucket list of recipes to make, yours look fabulous. Really have to make some, will try your recipe.
These little puffs look like melt in your mouth deliciousness. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Now we just need to sort out some small silicone molds for the event. Wishing you a super holiday season.
I’m going to try and make these soon- anything simple and cheesy sounds good to me! But first, I’ll have to make a trip to the supermarket to get the tapioca flour.
I can’t resist any cheesy bready thing. These look terrific — I want a bag in my freezer for emergencies. 🙂
This looks delicious! I love the texture of the cheese bread. I love that there is cheese in this bread.
I am going to have to try this next time I host book club where one of the members is gluten free. Looks delicious Juliana!
They look so yummy! Will other starch work too or must it be tapioca flour?
Hi Angie,
To create the right texture for pão de queijo only tapioca will do the trick…I think you can find tapioca flour in international groceries as it is very popular in Southeast Asia culinary.